Ru-Rong Ji

Professor in Anesthesiology

Distinguished Professor of Anesthesiology, in the School of Medicine

Professor in Neurobiology

Professor in Cell Biology

Email address: ru-rong.ji@duke.edu

Chronic pain is a major health problem in the US, affecting 100 million Americans. The long-term goal of the lab is to identify molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie the genesis of chronic pain and, furthermore, to develop novel pain therapeutics that can target these mechanisms. We are interested in the following questions. (1) How do neuroinflammation and activation of glial cells (microglia and astrocytes) regulate pain and spinal cord synaptic plasticity via neuro-glial and neuro-immune interactions? (2) How do secreted miRNAs regulate neuronal signaling and synaptic transmission and pain as novel neuromodulators and pain mediators? (3) How do pro-resolution lipid mediators such as resolvins and protectin control pain via GPCR and arrestin signaling? (4) Do pain and itch share similar mechanisms? (5) How does Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in primary sensory neurons regulate pain and itch? (6) How can bone marrow stem cells produce long-term pain relief via secreting anti-inflammatory and trophic factors? We employ a multidisciplinary approach that covers in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo electrophysiology, neuronal and glial cell biology, transgenic mice, and behaviors.

Education and Training

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), Ph.D. 1990

Associated Faculty Labs

Ji Lab

Selected Grants and Awards

Department Affiliation

Department of Anesthesiology

Publications

Suarez-Roca, H, Klinger, RY, Podgoreanu, MV, Ji, R-R, Sigurdsson, MI, Waldron, N, Mathew, JP, and Maixner, W. "Contribution of Baroreceptor Function to Pain Perception and Perioperative Outcomes." Anesthesiology 130, no. 4 (April 2019): 634-650.

Chen, G, Kim, YH, Li, H, Luo, H, Liu, D-L, Zhang, Z-J, Lay, M, Chang, W, Zhang, Y-Q, and Ji, R-R. "Author Correction: PD-L1 inhibits acute and chronic pain by suppressing nociceptive neuron activity via PD-1." Nature Neuroscience 22, no. 3 (March 2019): 503-null.

Matsuda, M, Huh, Y, and Ji, R-R. "Roles of inflammation, neurogenic inflammation, and neuroinflammation in pain." Journal of Anesthesia 33, no. 1 (February 2019): 131-139.

Chen, G, Zhang, Y-Q, Qadri, YJ, Serhan, CN, and Ji, R-R. "Microglia in Pain: Detrimental and Protective Roles in Pathogenesis and Resolution of Pain." Neuron 100, no. 6 (December 2018): 1292-1311. (Review)

Luo, X, Fitzsimmons, B, Mohan, A, Zhang, L, Terrando, N, Kordasiewicz, H, and Ji, R-R. "Intrathecal administration of antisense oligonucleotide against p38α but not p38β MAP kinase isoform reduces neuropathic and postoperative pain and TLR4-induced pain in male mice." Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 72 (August 2018): 34-44.

Ji, R-R, Nackley, A, Huh, Y, Terrando, N, and Maixner, W. "Neuroinflammation and Central Sensitization in Chronic and Widespread Pain." Anesthesiology 129, no. 2 (August 2018): 343-366. (Review)

Bang, S, Xie, Y-K, Zhang, Z-J, Wang, Z, Xu, Z-Z, and Ji, R-R. "GPR37 regulates macrophage phagocytosis and resolution of inflammatory pain." The Journal of Clinical Investigation 128, no. 8 (August 2018): 3568-3582.

Han, Q, Liu, D, Convertino, M, Wang, Z, Jiang, C, Kim, YH, Luo, X, Zhang, X, Nackley, A, Dokholyan, NV, and Ji, R-R. "miRNA-711 Binds and Activates TRPA1 Extracellularly to Evoke Acute and Chronic Pruritus." Neuron 99, no. 3 (August 2018): 449-463.e6.

Price, TJ, Basbaum, AI, Bresnahan, J, Chambers, JF, De Koninck, Y, Edwards, RR, Ji, R-R, Katz, J, Kavelaars, A, Levine, JD, Porter, L, Schechter, N, Sluka, KA, Terman, GW, Wager, TD, Yaksh, TL, and Dworkin, RH. "Transition to chronic pain: opportunities for novel therapeutics." Nature Reviews. Neuroscience 19, no. 7 (July 2018): 383-384.

Qadri, YJ, and Ji, R-R. "Dorsal root ganglia pulsed radiofrequency treatment alters the spinal immune environment." Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 70 (May 2018): 6-7.